Home Staging Pennsylvania- Hart & Associates Servicing the Main Line, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Hi All

Unfortunately we have a lot of delinquent clients right now- some are 6 months past due. I have tried to collect and have heard almost every excuse imaginable. We require people to give us credit cards since some people "forget" to send their monthly rental checks but a lot of cards are getting declined.

Instead of filing in small claims I was thinking of using a collections agency. We have a clause in our contract that if we have to use one that the client has to pay the money owed PLUS the collection fee. I have never used one. I was wondering if you have had experience with collections agencies, can recommend one or give me a heads up on what to ask them and look for when I am hiring one

thanks for your help with this! kh

I am exhausted! Yesterday our team had the task of completely transforming a grand estate in Montgomery County Pennsylvania. Since the home will not be on the market for another 2 weeks I will not post exterior shots but I promise to share some of the AMAZING architecture this home has to offer at a later date.

I think this is a great project to share because it really shows home sellers how home staging can give a property a new look using only what the client already has. I originally met with this home seller who is a real estate investor 2 months ago. I gave him a thorough evaluation of the property and gave him a report of what needed to be done to prepare the home for sale. Since it is an older home I recommended the usual menu of repainting, yard clean up, and other minor maintenance issues. I also gave him recommendations of what items to remove and store before the staging could take place.

I have to admit that this home was lovely to begin with and the home seller had gorgeous antiques and artwork. The photos below will show however that this home needed staging to show a better purpose for each space that they were selling:

• The dining room that was being used as a sitting room needed to be shown as a dining room.
• The formal living room was too crowded with lovely things- we are selling the home not the furniture
• The library did not suit the needs of a family living in this home and needed to be transformed into a more typical cozy family room.
• The kitchen had been partially updated but needed some warmth and excitement to make it more memorable

The best part was what we got to do with the items we removed. Adjoining the home was an empty in law apartment that we staged using only the items we took out of the main home- astonishingly it worked and is my favorite part of the home.

Once the home goes active I will share more photos and the special story behind this home. Until then I hope home sellers see this staging as an example of how each space in your home has to have a specific purpose and that you really can use the items you already have, just in a different way!

Dear Active Rain Newsletter Team,

On behalf of the staging industry and the staging community on Active Rain I want to say thank you for featuring home staging as your focus for yesterday's newsletter. To have over 100,000 members get an entire issue dedicated to home staging was awesome! Home Staging is an important part of the Real Estate Industry and your validation of the services we provide was a huge boost for home staging professionals.  You have always supported us by giving us a voice in your on line community and helping us to educate both consumers and Realtors nationally and in our local communities.

On a personal note, I was thrilled to be a featured blogger. When I opened my inbox this morning I had emails from 2 local office managers congratulating me on being featured. The best part was that one had received the email from a consultant that they work with on Internet marketing and she had sent it to them as an example of a local professional in the real estate industry that is taking advantage of blogging as a marketing tool.

I am so impressed with all you do to support the Real Estate Community- including home staging professionals-and thankful for how you have helped my business grow.

Kind regards,

Kate Hart, President Hart & Associates Staging and Design

RESA Professional Stager of the Year 2007

www.hartstaging.com

www.askthestagingcoach.com

After almost 5 years in the home staging business sometimes even I am amazed at what a difference a little staging can make. I visited this vacant home in Wayne 2 weeks ago- a Realtor that I work with wanted me to take a peek at her listing and come up with a plan on how to make it more appealing to younger first time home buyers. I have to say the results were awesome! What was once a vacant twin with rooms that had no defined purpose is now a charming retreat that buyers can imagine calling home. This is one home staging that definitely made a dramatic difference!

UPDATE! I  just spoke with the agent and this home ALREADY HAS AN OFFER!! Not bad for staging it last week?!

No worries you are not seeing double! Last weekend I had the pleasure of conducting my first "Designer is In" seminar for HomeGoods stores in St. Davids Pennsylvania and used this display to show shoppers how accessories can really transform a space on a budget. I really enjoyed meeting fellow shoppers and answering questions about their design and home staging projects.  To learn more about the "Designer is In" seminars visit my HomeGoods blog. I am off to Marlton New Jersey this weekend and look forward to meeting more shoppers in person.

If you are getting your home ready to sell then you need to take note of what my latest client in Havertown Pennsylvania did to prepare her home for sale. Three months ago I received a phone call from her- she knew that she was going to put her home on the market in the Fall and that in order to sell in today's market that it needed to look its best. Two weeks ago I met her at her home and she had already gotten to work. The painters were repainting the interior to give it a fresh look, the handyman was taking care of any maintenance issues and the exterior of the home was being refreshed with power washing and seasonal landscaping. Today we provided the final touch with home staging. It goes on the market tomorrow and I am looking forward to her getting an offer!

I love doing home staging consultations! I consider it such an honor to go into a home seller's home and help them get their most valuable, and personal possession, ready to sell. This month I had the pleasure of working with a family that needed some advice about what to do to prepare their house for Fall market. I was really impressed with how they listened to my ideas about decluttering, repainting, and depersonalizing. I was even more impressed that they not only replaced the second floor carpet and the lower level carpet but that they updated the master bathroom as well. After their projects were completed I returned to the home to help them enhance the home with a few key accessories. Below are some photos I wanted to share. I am excited for the next lucky family that gets to call this luxurious house their home!

UPDATE! I just got a call from the listing agent- the home sellers got an offer in just 5 days. Here is proof again that Home Staging is helping to sell homes in any market!

Last week we had the pleasure of helping a home seller in Downingtown, Chester County Pennsylvania prepare her home for sale. It is a charming home on a large 1 acre lot with gorgeous hardwood floors. I was really impressed with the amount of work my client was willing to do to get the home ready to go on the market. She understood that curb appeal was essential and had tree work and landscaping done to make sure the home looked its best.  She also repainted the interior of the home a neutral color that would better allow buyers to envision how they could live there. I have to say I was amazed and exhausted at the work she put in. Below are some pictures of the staging. I am excited to meet the new lucky home owner who gets to live in this cute starter home!

Have you ever seen a room in a design magazine and wanted to create a similar space in your home, only to discover the pillows you admired cost more than your mortgage?! Well real people like you and me have real budgets!  In my job as a home stager, I come across this challenge all the time and have learned many ways to give a room an instant new look without breaking the bank.

I am excited that as part of HomeGoods' new "Designer is In" events in the coming weeks, I will have the opportunity to share with you in person and online my tips and tricks for updating your home-affordably!  I will be appearing at four HomeGoods stores near Philadelphia.  Some of the topics I plan on covering in my presentation are:

•·         How to make your rooms look 15 years younger with just a few simple accents

•·         How to add color to a room and create a dramatic change without a single coat of paint

•·         How you can instantly transform the style of any room

Also, make sure to bring your design questions, pictures of any rooms you are working on, fabric swatches or photographs and ideas that inspire you and I will be happy to consult with you and answer your questions.

If you cannot make the store events, please post your design questions here and I will be happy to help.
Plus, after each in-store event, I will blog about the questions that came up at the store events and the shoppers I meet.

Hope to see you at my presentation. I will be speaking three times a day at 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm, and 2:30 pm. At the following HomeGoods: 

September 13
St. David's Square
550 East Lancaster Avenue
St. Davids, PA

September 20
Airport Square Shopping Plaza
Bethlehem Pike & Upper State Road
Montgomeryville, PA

September 27
Marlton Crossing Shopping Center
Corner of Rte. 73 & Rte. 70
Marlton, NJ

October 4
Concordville Town Centre
501 Town Center Drive
Glen Mills, PA

 I look forward to meeting you in person at my area HomeGoods stores and helping you create inspiring rooms on any budget! KH